Snakes Sack Liberian President, George Weah From Office

Black snakes have chased away the Liberian President, George Weah from his office and he is now forced to work from his private residence.

According to the President’s Press Secretary Smith Toby, who spoke to the BBC, two black snakes were found in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building housing Weah’s official place of work.

He said that since Wednesday when the snakes were discovered, all workers in the presidency have been told to stay away until Monday, April 22.

“It’s just to make sure that crawling and creeping things get fumigated from the building,” Toby was quoted as saying. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the office of the President, so it did an internal memo asking the staff to stay home while they do the fumigation.”

The office of the President has been based in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since a fire in 2006 gutted the nearby presidential mansion.

A front page Africa news website video shows workers trying to attack the snakes when they appeared near the building’s reception.

According to the Presidential spokesman, the snakes were never killed.

“There was a little hole somewhere (through which) they made their way back. That building’s been there for years now, and [because of] the drainage system, the possibility of having things like snakes crawling in that building was high.”

Police and presidential security were seen guarding Weah’s residence in the capital Monrovia. A fleet of vehicles including escorts jeeps were parked outside.

Mr. Toby said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to fumigate on Friday, and that the President “is definitely returning to his office on Monday after the fumigation whether or not the snakes are found and killed.”